Chapter 3

   What are the keys to a good speaking voice?

Why is breath control so important?

How can you develop a rich, strong, and interesting stage voice?

 Expressive voice and clear, correct speech: • • Indispensible tools for the actor  Assets in almost everyone’s life Personnel directors list them among qualities needed for any position that requires working with others.

    Body Relaxation Proper Breathing Good Posture A poised, self-confident, and healthy voice has a pleasing affect on the listener.

     Voice is produced by air from lungs passing over vocal folds, which are thin curtains of muscles with delicate edges These folds set up vibrations, or waves Vibrations become sounds and are aplified when they strike the resonating chambers of the throat, head, nose, and mouth Sounds are determined by shape of the chambers Shape of chambers are determined by position of tongue, soft palate, lips, and lower jaw.

      Have an open, relaxed throat Flexible tongue and lips Relaxed lower jaw Practice deep central breathing For actors, exercising voice is as important as exercising and conditioning the body.

Poor vocal habits can be eliminated within a short period of time with regular exercise and deliberate concentration

         Quality Resonance Nasality Pitch Inflection Monotone Volume Rate Diction     Schwa Voiceless Voiced Pronunciation

     Tense/tight throat can cause hoarseness when projecting in performance The degree of relaxation determines the carrying power of vowel sounds Proper vowel sounds are the key to a powerful and beautiful voice They are made with an open, relaxed throat, a relaxed jaw and flexible lips This is why relaxation (mental AND physical) is a key to voice

 Stretching is an effective means to relaxation  • Stretch whole body like an animal after a nap(think of a cat with an arched back) Visualization is also an effective means to relaxation • Imagine a warm, relaxing shower falling over your head wiping out frown lines…

       Let your head fall forward onto your chest Lift it up and back, letting your jaw remain loose Drop it again and slowly roll your head over your right shoulder, back, over your left shoulder, and forward Drop your head forward again Place your hads lightly on your cheeks and lift your head with your hands, keeping the jaw relaxed and being careful to avoid using the jaw muscles.

When your head is lifted, the jaw should hang open Make your face as expressionless as possible

   Diction: the selection and pronunciation of words and their combination in speech Effective speech requires carefully chosen words that are uttered distinctly.

Ear training is almost as important as speech training. • Recording and analyzing your speech and the speech of others in a variety of situations can be helpful.

 All pass unobstructed through the mouth, but the position of the lips, tongue, jaw, and soft palate differ for each vowel sound.

 • Vowel sound classifications: front, middle, back (based on the position of the tongue) Important to distinguish between sound and letter • • 6 vowel letters in the English alphabet Many more sounds

   A = father, cat, came Vowel sounds in unstressed syllables are often pronounced with a soft “uh” – schwa International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) created to represent sounds in all languages • • Knowing the IPA can be a great help to actors working with dialects Refer to the chart on page 85 of textbook

 International Phonetic Alphabet  Vowel Sounds in the Standard American Accent